The engineering on this Telarc reissue is too upfront and artificial compared
with the latest Bachianas Brasileiras cycle from BIS.
BIS’s natural microphone placements better captures a living
concert hall acoustic and thereby the dynamic range
and internal balances of Villa-Lobos's imaginative
colourful music.

Jesus Lopez-Cobos draws a bright and singing response from the
Cincinnati strings in the opening Preludio of Bachianas
Brasileiras No. 4with flexible tempi,
including a pronounced drop at the start of the violin solo.
Roberto Minczuk’s São Paolo strings are slower, notably more
serene and occasionally tender. Minczuk also conducts
more naturally about a basic pulse which, combined with the bass-up
São Paolo orchestra's colouring, creates a sense of
space and mystery. Lopez-Cobos opens out repeats.

Telarc's drums are particularly weak in the Coral (Canta
do Sertao) and the movement’s cumulation
point at 3:52 is underwhelming. Villa-Lobos’s Brazilian
forests are directly evoked through the araponga bird’s
repeated note which Telarc predictably brings further forward
than BIS where she is nestled within the forest foliage.

In the opening bars of the Aria (Cantiga) the BIS
bass drum and tam-tam resonate darkly in the
descent towards the haunting corale whereas the Telarc's
flatter perspective deadens their impact. Telarc's miking
follows the coral theme as it is passed about the
orchestra and again the timpani lacks presence in the central
dance where, in any event, Lopez-Cobos misses Minczuk's robust
energy.

For all the expert playing and characterisation of the Cincinnati
playing in the final movement Dansa (Miudinho)
the São Paolo orchestra are definitely more alive to influences
of native Brazilian dances. Such dances are autobiographical in
Villa-Lobos's scores as they are influenced by music
heard by the headstrong young composer as he was lured from
the business career his family intended towards street
music and smoke-filled dance halls.

The Fuga of Bachianas Brasileiras No. 8 ends
with impressive punch on Telarc but, once again, the BIS
recording boasts a richness and impact which really excite.
Beware, headphone listeners! Telarc's upfront sound does
pay dividends as Villas-Lobos' “Little train of the Caipira” clatters
its way into the interior in Bachianas Brasileiras
No. 2with brilliant tooting and shots
of steam from the Cincinnati woodwind and brass. The chugging
São Paolo piano and percussion are somewhat obscured
by the heavy strings in the main theme. In both recordings
the final bars of number 2 are sinister, with the last
loud steam-blast on BIS especially menacing. Did
Villa-Lobos know that such trains were also a threat to the
landscape he loved?

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